EAST DUBLIN, Ga. — The Laurens County Sheriff says someone killed 54-year-old Mary Atkins.
Sheriff Larry Dean says it happened in a home on Brett Drive in East Dublin.
A neighbor of Atkins, Janice Maddox, says she was a kind person and didn't deserve what happened to her.
"I just couldn't understand it, and it really shocked me when I found out she had got killed," Maddox said.
Maddox knew Atkins for more than 20 years and called her a friend.
"She had a good heart. She always used to come down sometime and bring me vegetables and fruits and stuff," Maddox said.
Sheriff Larry Dean says family members were concerned about Atkins checked on her and found her dead on Friday. Investigators ruled her death a homicide, but so far, there's no word on the cause of death.
"They didn't have to take her life. I mean, she was in her home -- I don't know if anybody broke in there -- I don't really know," Maddox said.
Maddox says she feels sorry for Atkins' daughter.
"She had just lost her husband last year. Then, her brother last year, and now, she's gone," Maddox said.
Maddox takes care of her 91-year-old mother and wants to feel safe where she lives.
"Right now, I can't say I feel that safe because they haven't caught the person that done it, but I hope they catch them. They deserve whatever the Lord got for them," Maddox said.
The investigations division at the Laurens County Sheriff's Office asks that anyone with information call 911 or the Laurens County Sheriff's Office at (478) 272-1522.
Atkins' body has been sent to the GBI crime lab for an autopsy.